Method and apparatus for peer-to-peer communications in a wireless local area network including the negotiation and establishment of a peer-to-peer connection between peers based on capability information

ABSTRACT

A method and device for peer-to-peer communications is provided. The method includes communication of the capabilities of a device to another device or network component. A peer to peer communication is established based on at least one of the capabilities of the device. The method may also include utilizing a control point or access point in conveying the capabilities of the device to another device.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The patent is a continuation of and claims the benefit of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/868,550, file Aug. 25, 2010, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/248,328 filed Oct. 2,2009, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to network communications and,more particularly, to methods and apparatus to establish peer-to-peercommunications.

BACKGROUND

Wireless network deployments, such as wireless local area networks(WLANs), allow wireless terminals to access other devices and serviceswhen those terminals are within proximity of wireless communicationsignals of those wireless networks. Another method of accessing suchdevices and/or services involves the use of peer-to-peer (P2P)connections, in which a wireless terminal can communicate directly withanother wireless terminal, device or service. However, known methods ofestablishing P2P connections require a significant amount of userinvolvement to provide proper configuration information and to discoverother devices capable of P2P communications. This can often provefrustrating and can discourage many users from attempting to establishsuch P2P connections.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an example wireless local area network (WLAN) topology.

FIG. 2 depicts communication layer architecture in accordance with theOpen Systems Interconnection Standard (OSI) model.

FIG. 3 depicts example wireless terminals discovering peer-to-peer (P2P)capabilities via a wireless access point and establishing a P2Pconnection.

FIG. 4 depicts example wireless terminals discovering P2P capabilitiesvia wireless access points communicatively coupled via a network andestablishing a P2P connection.

FIG. 5 depicts example wireless terminals discovering P2P capabilitiesvia a wireless network and establishing a P2P connection without the useof an access point.

FIG. 6 depicts a control point in a network to facilitate discoveringP2P capabilities of wireless terminals and establishing P2P connectionsbetween wireless terminals.

FIG. 7 depicts a control point in a wireless access point to facilitatediscovering P2P capabilities of wireless terminals and establishing P2Pconnections between wireless terminals.

FIG. 8 depicts a control point in a wireless terminal to facilitatediscovering P2P capabilities of other wireless terminals andestablishing P2P connections between wireless terminals.

FIG. 9 depicts a plurality of control points present in a networkenvironment.

FIG. 10 depicts a virtual control point made up of separately locatedcontrol points in a network environment.

FIG. 11 depicts wireless terminals forming a multi-connection P2Psession.

FIG. 12 depicts an example terminal capabilities data structure.

FIG. 13 depicts an example control point management data structure.

FIG. 14 depicts an example message flow diagram representative ofcommunications between wireless terminals via a wireless access point todiscover each other's P2P capabilities and establish a P2P connection.

FIG. 15 depicts an example message flow diagram representative ofcommunications between wireless terminals and a control point todiscover each other's P2P capabilities and establish a P2P connection.

FIG. 16 depicts an example message flow diagram representative of a P2Pcapabilities dynamic update process facilitated by the control point ofFIGS. 6-10 and 15.

FIGS. 17A-17C depict an example schema for use in arranging P2Pcapabilities and configuration information communicated between wirelessterminals.

FIGS. 18A and 18B depict an example P2P capabilities message thatindicates one or more P2P services available in a network.

FIG. 19 depicts a block diagram of an example wireless terminal that canbe used to implement the example methods and apparatus described herein.

FIG. 20 depicts a block diagram of an example control point that can beused to facilitate P2P capabilities discovery and P2P connectionsbetween wireless terminals.

FIGS. 21A and 21B depict a flow diagram representative of exampleprocesses, which may be implemented using computer readable instructionsto discover P2P capabilities and establish P2P connections betweenwireless terminals.

FIG. 22 depicts a flow diagram representative of example processes,which may be implemented using computer readable instructions todiscover P2P capabilities using a control point and establish P2Pconnections between wireless terminals.

FIG. 23 depicts a flow diagram representative of example processes,which may be implemented using computer readable instructions todynamically update P2P capabilities of wireless terminals using acontrol point and update established P2P connections between wirelessterminals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Although the following discloses example methods and apparatusincluding, among other components, software executed on hardware, itshould be noted that such methods and apparatus are merely illustrativeand should not be considered as limiting. For example, it iscontemplated that any or all of these hardware and software componentscould be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software,exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. Accordingly, while the following describes examplemethods and apparatus, persons having ordinary skill in the art willreadily appreciate that the examples provided are not the only way toimplement such methods and apparatus.

The example methods and apparatus described herein can be used bywireless terminals to discover peer-to-peer (P2P) capabilities of otherwireless terminals in wireless network environments and establish P2Pconnections with one or more of those wireless terminals. At least someadvantages of P2P connections are that they can be made secure betweentwo entities and involve unicast communications instead of multicastcommunications that are typically used by access points to communicateinformation to all wireless terminals or devices connected thereto.Unicast communications require relatively less bandwidth use by anaccess point (AP) than multicast communications. Thus, using unicast P2Pcommunications between two peers can be especially advantageous when thepeers are transferring relatively large amounts of information (e.g.,large files, streaming media, VoIP video or voice calls, etc.).

The example methods and apparatus described herein can be used inconnection with mobile communication devices, mobile computing devices,or any other element, entity, device, or service capable ofcommunicating wirelessly with a wireless network. Devices, also referredto as terminals, wireless terminals, stations (non-AP stations), or userequipment (UE), may include mobile smart phones (e.g., a BlackBerry®smart phone), wireless personal digital assistants (PDA),laptop/notebook/netbook computers with wireless adapters, etc. Theexample methods and apparatus are described herein in connection withthe wireless local area network (WLAN) communication standard known asIEEE® (Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11.However, the example methods and apparatus may additionally oralternatively be implemented in connection with other wirelesscommunication standards including other WLAN standards, personal areanetwork (PAN) standards, wide area network (WAN) standards, or cellularcommunication standards.

The example methods and apparatus described herein can be implemented inany environment providing wireless access for network connectivity(e.g., WLANs). For instance, the example methods and apparatus can beimplemented in private WLAN access locations or environments or inpublic WLAN access locations or environments in which it is expectedthat one or more users carrying respective wireless terminals willfrequently connect and disconnect from a WLAN as they enter and exit theWLAN access locations or environments.

Some known techniques or standards for establishing P2P connectionsbetween wireless terminals require that a P2P connection go through anintermediary WLAN infrastructure the entire time during which the P2Pconnection is active. Other P2P connection types allow for wirelessterminals to connect directly to one another without an intermediaryWLAN infrastructure. However, in both instances, users must manuallyconfigure their wireless terminals to establish such P2P connections.Such configurations can often be complicated and user-error prone. Forinstance, it is often necessary that a user be aware of another wirelessterminal or perform some prior investigation regarding whether anotherwireless terminal to which the user seeks to connect has the same P2Pcommunication capabilities as the user's wireless terminal. Suchinvestigation requires that the user understands or knows theconfiguration information for which to search and may require navigatingthrough a series of user-interface menus and screens on both wirelessterminals or referring to user manuals of the wireless terminals. Insome instances, user manuals may be of no help in this regard. Inaddition, some wireless terminals may not provide sufficient userinterface functionality to investigate their P2P capabilities and/or P2Pconfiguration parameters. For example, while one wireless terminal maybe a BlackBerry® smart phone, another wireless terminal may be athird-party printer of which P2P capabilities and/or configurationinformation may not be readily attainable. Such a process can oftenprove frustrating, especially for a novice user, for whom P2Pcommunications may be extremely useful but may rarely, if ever, be ableto benefit from such communications due to the complicated configurationprocess.

Known standards that enable P2P communications include WLANinfrastructure, WLAN ad-hoc, Wi-Fi P2P, Wi-Fi Tunneled Direct Link Setup(TDLS), and Wi-Fi single-hop mesh. WLAN ad-hoc is rarely used due towireless terminal interoperability issues and useability issues. Wi-FiP2P is specified by the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) and allows one of the peerdevices to provide P2P connectivity by acting or functioning as an AP.Wi-Fi TDLS is a mechanism of peer communications defined by the IEEE802.11z standard. Wi-Fi TDLS allows peer devices to communicate over P2Pconnections traversing a WLAN infrastructure which is configured totransfer data frames or packets between two peer terminals via atunneled link. Wi-Fi single-hop mesh is a mechanism defined in IEEE802.11s that also provides P2P connectivity via a WLAN infrastructure.

Many wireless terminals can be capable of establishing P2P connectionsusing one or more internet protocol (IP) protocols. As such, a user isoften burdened with configuring both the wireless local area network(WLAN) link level (layer 2 of the OSI model) and IP level (layer 3 ofthe OSI model) information. In addition, when configuration, capability,or state changes occur to the WLAN infrastructure or to a wirelessterminal, the user must re-configure link level and IP level informationto re-establish or update a P2P connection. A wireless terminal statechange may occur when a user of the wireless terminal is detected asbeing in a meeting and the wireless terminal has been pre-configured todisable certain functionality (e.g., ignore voice calls or data transferrequests) when its user is in a meeting. Such a change in functionalitycan cause a profile change (e.g., move to silent mode; do not acceptvoice calls under any circumstances; etc.).

In addition, many wireless terminals are mobile and are frequently movedbetween different wireless infrastructure environments. Wirelessinfrastructure environments often have different infrastructurecapabilities and allow a wireless terminal to detect many differentwireless terminals with different P2P capabilities when moved betweenthe different wireless infrastructure environments. When the wirelessterminal is moved from one wireless infrastructure environment toanother, its user must re-configure it for P2P connectivity in the newenvironment. In addition, the user must re-configure the wirelessterminal for P2P connectivity with any other wireless terminal in thewireless infrastructure environment.

The methods and apparatus described herein enable wireless terminals toperform automatic discovery and negotiation/association of P2P networksand/or P2P services through a P2P discovery exchange over one or moreP2P-supported protocols within a WLAN environment. The P2P discoveryexchange enables wireless terminals to discovery wireless terminalscapable of different P2P network connections (e.g., WiFi direct or othertypes of P2P network connections) and/or to access different P2Pservices (e.g., voice over internet protocol (VoIP), media streaming,etc.) over such P2P network connections. In this manner, wirelessterminals can determine whether to establish P2P connections with otherwireless terminals based on the discovered P2P network types and thediscovered P2P services. For example, the example methods and apparatusdescribed herein enable wireless terminals to request or propose P2Pconnections based on particular P2P network types and particular P2Pservices. Such a proposed combination of P2P network type and servicemay involve a wireless terminal requesting to connect with anotherwireless terminal via a WiFi direct network connection type to use aVoIP service.

Example physical, logical, or functional entities capable of P2Pcommunications include printers, gateways, personal informationmanagement (PIM) synchronization services (e.g., calendarsynchronization, media source synchronization, etc.), media playback(e.g., play specific media file—a digitally encoded music track),printing (e.g., wireless printing service), and download services (e.g.,P2P download, file sharing, and/or network storage). In addition, theP2P discovery enables wireless terminals to access serviceregistry/information interfaces (e.g., endpoints offering resources,applications, and/or service logic including wirelessly accessibleagents/nomadic agents, proxies, etc.) and domain information (i.e.,network information that a domain is authorized to share with wirelessterminals performing P2P discovery) (e.g., access points topology,naming, locations within the domain, etc.). Thus, although illustratedexamples are described herein in connection with two or more wirelessterminals discovering and connecting to one another, the methods andapparatus described herein may alternatively be implemented insubstantially identical or similar manners using other P2P-capableelements (or P2P-capable entities) including any other type ofP2P-capable terminals or services including the above-noted elements.

In operation, when a P2P-capable wireless terminal has established aconnection with a WLAN, the wireless terminal transmits a P2Pcapabilities message using an existing WLAN infrastructure, indicatingits P2P connection capabilities. In response, another P2P-capablewireless terminal that is also connected to the WLAN responds to the P2Pcapabilities message to begin a P2P capabilities exchange and P2Pconnection negotiation should the wireless terminals have compatible P2Pcapabilities. During a discovery process, wireless terminals exchangingdiscovery, capability, and negotiation messages are referred to asdiscovering wireless terminals or discovery devices.

As described in connection with the examples herein, each discoveringwireless terminal is able to exchange information without userintervention to exchange P2P capabilities information with otherdiscovering wireless terminals and/or P2P services and seek to establishP2P connections. In some example implementations described herein, a P2Pdiscovery exchange can occur between two wireless terminals connectedvia a wireless LAN. In other example implementations, while two wirelessterminals are connected and communicate via a wireless LAN, the P2Pdiscovery exchange can be facilitated by a control point (CP), which isan additional logical component accessible by the discovering wirelessterminals. In the illustrated example implementations described herein,a control point can assist in tracking P2P capabilities of differentwireless terminals and facilitate communicating such P2P capabilities toany discovering wireless terminal that connects to a WLAN associatedwith the control point. As explained below in connection with FIGS.6-10, a control point can reside in different places relative to a WLANenvironment (e.g., in a wireless access point, in a networkcommunicatively coupled to the wireless access point, and/or in awireless terminal) or can be a virtual entity made up of separatecontrol points working in cooperation with one another.

Turning to FIG. 1, an example WLAN topology 100 is shown as having a LAN102 connected to a wireless AP 104. Also shown are P2P-capable devicesor wireless terminals 106 capable of connecting to and communicating viathe AP 104. The example methods and apparatus described herein can beimplemented in connection with desktop computers, laptop computers,smart phones, personal computing devices, services (e.g., printers,media streaming servers, etc.), and any other device or service capableof communicating via wireless means. In the illustrated example, the LAN102 is communicatively coupled to the Internet 108.

Although the Internet 108 is shown in FIG. 1, the example methods andapparatus described herein can be implemented without access to theInternet. In addition, the example methods and apparatus may beimplemented without any sophisticated LAN implementation. That is, thewireless terminals 106 need only be able to establish initialcommunications with one another via an AP (e.g., the AP 104) to performP2P discovery and P2P capabilities exchanges without needing to accessany higher level networks (e.g., LANs, intranets, the Internet). Forinstance, in some example implementations, the AP 104 may be implementedusing a wireless router through which each of the wireless terminals 106can communicate, and after two or more of the wireless terminals 106elect to communicate directly via P2P connections, such communicationscan occur between the wireless terminals 106 without needing tocommunicate via the intermediary AP 104 (e.g., one of the wirelessterminals can function as an AP, or a P2P mode that does not require anAP can be used). The example methods and apparatus described herein canalso be used to establish P2P connections that traverse an AP.

In the illustrated examples described herein, each wireless terminal 106capable of P2P communications locally pre-stores its P2P capabilityinformation. The P2P capability information may be provided by amanufacturer of the wireless terminal 106, by software or driversinstalled on the wireless terminal 106, by a service provider vendor ofthe wireless terminal, by a network service provider, a wirelesscommunications service provider, a user of the wireless terminal 106,etc. The P2P capabilities may be stored in a fixed memory of a wirelessterminal 106 or in a removable memory or removable module (e.g., anauthentication card, a security card, a subscriber identity module(SIM), etc.). In some example implementations, communication serviceproviders such as wireless communication carriers or network operatorscan restrict the types of P2P protocols or modes that can be used bywireless terminals 106 offered by them or connected to their networks.

FIG. 2 depicts an example communication layer architecture 200 that maybe used to implement P2P discovery and capabilities exchanges andestablish P2P connections between wireless terminals. The examplecommunication layer architecture 200 is shown as having seven layerswhich may be implemented in accordance with, for example, the well-knownOSI Reference Model. In the illustrated example, the communication layerarchitecture 200 includes a network layer 202 (i.e., an internetprotocol (IP) layer). In the illustrated examples described herein,wireless terminals (e.g., the wireless terminals 106 of FIG. 1) areconfigured to exchange P2P setup information 204 (e.g., information usedin P2P discovery and capabilities exchanges and P2P connectionnegotiation and initiation messages) via wireless APs (e.g., the AP 104of FIG. 1) using communications at the network layer 202. That is, thewireless terminals 106 can exchange the P2P setup information 204 viathe AP 104 at the network layer 202 without needing to use operationsabove the network layer 202 (i.e., without needing to communicate theP2P setup information 204 at a transport layer, a session layer, apresentation layer, or an application layer of the communication layerarchitecture 200).

Turning now to FIG. 3, example wireless terminals 302 a and 302 bcommunicate P2P setup messages (e.g., including the P2P setupinformation 204 of FIG. 2) via the AP 104 to discover each other's P2Pcapabilities and establish a P2P connection 304 with one another.Although the P2P connection 304 is shown as bypassing the AP 104, othertypes of P2P connections can be established that involve peerscommunicating via the AP 104 during the P2P connections. Similarly,while P2P connections depicted in the example implementations of FIGS.4-11 are also shown as bypassing APs, the example implementations ofFIGS. 4-11 may also use other types of P2P connections involving peerscommunicating via one or more APs during the P2P connections.

In the illustrated example, the wireless terminal 302 a is shown asstoring a terminal capabilities data structure 306, which stores theparameter information indicative of the P2P capabilities (e.g.,connection types, protocols, supported authentication or securitymethods, etc.) of the wireless terminal 302 a. The terminal capabilitiesdata structure 306 and example parameters that can be stored therein aredescribed in detail below in connection with FIG. 12. Although notshown, the wireless terminal 302 b also stores a terminal capabilitiesdata structure similar to the terminal capabilities data structure 306to store parameters indicative of its P2P capabilities. The wirelessterminals 302 a-b exchange at least some of the information in theirrespective terminal capabilities data structures (e.g., the terminalcapabilities data structure 306) with one another using the P2P setupinformation 204 to discover each other's P2P capabilities and establisha P2P connection with one another.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 3, the wireless terminals 302 a-b areshown as communicating the P2P setup information 204 via the single AP104. The example configuration of FIG. 3 enables the wireless terminals302 a-b to establish the P2P connection 304 therebetween without needingthe AP 104 to be connected to any other LAN or network. That is, in theillustrated example, the wireless terminals 302 a-b can discover eachother's P2P capabilities, negotiate the P2P connection 304, andestablish the P2P connection 304 while relying only on their storedinformation and their abilities to communicate via the AP 104.

In another example implementation depicted in FIG. 4, the AP 104 is incommunication with another AP 402 via a network 404, and the wirelessterminals 302 a-b are shown as discovering one another and exchangingthe P2P setup information 204 via the AP 104, the network 404, and theAP 402. The network 404 may be a LAN, a wide area network (WAN), anintranet, the Internet, or any other public or private network. Althoughonly one network (the network 404) is shown in FIG. 4, the examplemethods and apparatus described herein may be implemented using wirelessterminals (e.g., the wireless terminals 302 a-b) that initially discoverone another via APs that are in communication with each other throughtwo or more networks. Similar to the example implementation of FIG. 3,the wireless terminals 302 a-b can discover each other's P2Pcapabilities, negotiate a P2P connection 406, and establish the P2Pconnection 406 while relying only on their stored information and theirabilities to communicate via the AP 104, the network 404, and the AP402.

In other example implementations, such as illustrated in FIG. 5, thewireless terminals 302 a-b may connect to one another via a wirelessnetwork 408 without using an AP. In the illustrated example of FIG. 5,the network 408 may be a mesh network, and the wireless terminals 302a-b can discover each other's P2P capabilities via the mesh network 408and establish a P2P connection without using an AP.

While FIGS. 3-5 depict example implementations in which the wirelessterminals 302 a-b need only rely on their stored P2P capabilitiesinformation and their ability to communicate with one another via awireless network and/or one or more APs, the example methods andapparatus described herein can also be used to provide an intermediaryP2P information management service that facilitates or assists indiscovering wireless terminals and P2P capabilities of those wirelessterminals. Such an intermediary P2P information management service isdepicted as a control point 502 in the example implementations of FIGS.6-10.

In the illustrated examples, the control point 502 is a logical networkcomponent that proxies P2P capabilities and services to wirelessterminals. The control point 502 can be co-located with a domain namesystem (DNS) service or a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP)service. The control point 502 may also include or proxy otherinformation relating to its connected network (e.g., network defaultgateway and netmask IP's). The control point 502 is able to mediatestate and/or environment changes to one or more associated P2P-capablewireless terminals. For example, if a particular wireless terminalexperiences a state change (e.g. as a result of a wireless terminal userentering a meeting), such a state change may affect the correspondingcomposition of P2P service types and/or P2P capabilities associated withthat wireless terminal. To facilitate maintaining any current P2Pconnections or establishing any future P2P connections with the changedwireless terminal, the control point 502 is able to receive anotification of the detected state change from the wireless terminal. Inresponse, the control point 502 can reflect the appropriate changeswithin its information store (e.g., a control point management datastructure 504 of FIG. 6). In addition, the control point 502 can host orproxy a P2P capabilities exchange update to other wireless terminals onbehalf of the changed wireless terminal to reflect its state change. Inthe illustrated examples described herein, the control point 502 canautomatically perform these operations without direct user intervention.

As shown in FIG. 6, the control point 502 stores a control point (CP)management data structure 504, which stores parameter informationindicative of P2P capabilities (e.g., connection types, protocols,supported authentication or security methods, etc.) of the wirelessterminal 302 a-b and/or any other wireless terminals from which thecontrol point 502 has received P2P discovery messages and P2Pcapabilities information (e.g., the P2P setup information 204 of FIG.2). In addition, the CP management data structure 504 can store P2Pconnection status information indicative of which wireless terminals areconnected to one another via a P2P session. For example, the CPmanagement data structure 504 may store a P2P connection entry for eachP2P service type (e.g., VoIP service, instant messaging (IM) service,P2P chat service, media streaming service, printing service, etc.) forwhich a P2P connection is established between wireless terminals. The CPmanagement data structure 504 and example parameters that can be storedtherein are described in detail below in connection with FIG. 13.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 6, the wireless terminals 302 a-b arein communication with a network 506 (which may be substantially similaror identical to the network 404 of FIG. 4) via the AP 104 and an AP 507.As shown in FIG. 6, the control point 502 can be implemented as aseparate entity within the network 506 (e.g., the control point 502 maybe located within a LAN, WLAN, or other network at some arbitrary pointaddressable by the wireless terminals 302 a-b, and by the APs 104 and507). As shown in FIG. 6, the wireless terminals 302 a-b exchange theP2P setup information 204 with the control point 502 via the APs 104 and507 and the network 506, and the control point 502 facilitates thedissemination or advertisement of wireless terminals' P2P capabilitiesto other wireless terminals. In the illustrated examples of FIGS. 6 and7, the P2P capabilities information communicated by the wirelessterminals 302 a-b are denoted using reference numerals 508 a and 508 b,and the P2P capabilities advertisements from the control point 502 aredenoted using reference numerals 510 a and 510 b.

In other example implementations such as depicted in FIG. 7, the controlpoint 502 can alternatively be implemented in the AP 104. As shown inFIG. 7, the wireless terminals 302 a-b exchange the P2P setupinformation 204 with the control point 502 via the AP 104. In yet otherexample implementations, the control point 502 can alternatively beimplemented in a wireless terminal. For example, FIG. 8 shows thecontrol point 502 implemented in the wireless terminal 302 b, and thewireless terminal 302 a exchanges the P2P setup information 204 with thecontrol point 502 via the AP 104 and the wireless terminal 302 b.

While each of FIGS. 6-8 shows a single instantiation of the controlpoint 502, in some example implementations, two or more control pointsmay be located in a network environment. For example, one or morewireless terminals may run respective control point services while an APmay also run a control point service. In such implementations, anarbitration scheme may be used to indicate which control point is to beused as a master or primary control point as shown in FIG. 9 orarbitration and negotiations between the control points may be used toform a single logical or virtual control point made up of all or atleast some of the separately located control points as shown in FIG. 10.

To enable only one of several control points to function as the masteror primary control point for a network environment, an arbitrationscheme may be based on a hierarchical selection policy in which acontrol point in an AP (FIG. 7) should be selected over a control pointin a wireless terminal (such as in FIG. 8), and a control point locatedin a network (such as in FIG. 6) should be selected over a control pointin an AP (such as in FIG. 7). For example, in FIG. 9, the control point502 in the AP 104 is selected as the master or primary control point,and control points 702 and 704 in the wireless terminals 302 a-b aredesignated as slave or auxiliary control points. In the exampleimplementation of FIG. 9, the slave control points 702 and 704 may beused to store P2P capabilities and configuration information for otherP2P-capable elements in the network environment and communicate suchcapabilities and configuration information (or indirect referenceindicators (e.g., uniform resource indicators (URIs) describing thenetwork locations storing the capabilities and configurationinformation)) to the master control point 502. The master control point502 can then broadcast or advertise such information to otherP2P-capable elements and facilitate establishing P2P connections betweensuch P2P-capable elements. Alternatively, in other exampleimplementations, the control points 702 and 704 of the wirelessterminals 302 a-b can be disabled and the control point 502 can functionas the single control point (e.g., a single master control point) forthe network environment.

To form a single logical control point made up of several control pointslocated in different P2P-capable elements as shown in FIG. 10, controlpoints of the P2P-capable elements can work cooperatively as a singlevirtual control point using arbitration and negotiations. In theillustrated example of FIG. 10, the control point 502 is a virtualcontrol point made up of a control point 712 operating in the AP 104, acontrol point 714 operating in the wireless terminal 302 a, and acontrol point 716 operating in the wireless terminal 302 b.

In the illustrated examples described herein, the control point 502 isconfigurable to enable modifying its operation. For example, as shown inFIG. 6, a networked computer 512 can be used to access a configurationinterface (not shown) of the control point 502. In this manner, anadministrator can specify the types of P2P connections that can benegotiated via the control point 502 and/or can specify which types ofwireless terminals can connect to one another. For example, wirelessservice providers may elect to specify that only wireless terminalsprovided by its service can connect to one another in WLANs that itoperates or that are operated by its affiliates. In addition, quality ofservice (QoS) aspects of the control point 502 can be configured. Forinstance, if a wireless terminal cannot guarantee that it can provide aminimum level of QoS, then the control point 502 can prevent thatwireless terminal from establishing P2P connections with other wirelessterminals.

Although FIGS. 3-10 depict P2P connections between only two wirelessterminals 302 a-b, the example methods and apparatus described hereincan be used to discover P2P capabilities and establish P2P connectionsbetween two or more wireless terminals. For instance, turning to FIG.11, after the wireless terminals 302 a-b have established a first P2Pconnection 802, the wireless terminal 302 a can discover anotherP2P-capable wireless terminal 804 and establish a second P2P connection806 with the wireless terminal 804. In the illustrated example of FIG.11, the wireless terminal 302 a can communicate with the wirelessterminals 302 b and 804 and is the P2P group owner or hub through whichthe wireless terminals 302 b and 804 can communicate with one another.

In some example implementations, the multi-connection P2P session ofFIG. 11 can be established using one or more control points implementedin any configuration including such configurations as described above inconnection with FIGS. 6-10. In some example implementations, the networktopology depicted in FIG. 11 may be an inter-domain topology in whichthe AP 104 is associated with a home network and an AP 808 is associatedwith a visited network. In such inter-domain implementations, P2Pdiscovery and negotiation messages can be communicated between thewireless terminals 302 a-b and 804 via the APs 104 and 808 and theirrespective domains. In addition, for instances in which each of the APs104 and 808 includes a respective control point (similar orsubstantially identical to the control point 502), the control pointscan work cooperatively across the separate domains to facilitate P2Pdiscovery and connection negotiations between the wireless terminals 302a-b and 804.

FIG. 12 depicts the example terminal capabilities data structure 306 ofFIG. 3 in detail. In the illustrated example, the terminal capabilitiesdata structure 306 stores parameters indicative of the P2P capabilitiesand configurations of the wireless terminal 302 a. This information maybe provisioned onto wireless terminals through APs or using, forexample, an Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Device Management (DM) interfaceor through some non-standard provisioning platform. The manner ofcommunicating the P2P capabilities and configuration information towireless terminals can depend on the topology and structure of theassociated network domain encapsulating the P2P-capable devices.

In addition, in the illustrated example of FIG. 12, the P2P capabilitiesparameters correspond to a service type called “WLAN PeerCommunications.” During a P2P discovery process, the wireless terminal302 a broadcasts a discovery request including the service type name“WLAN Peer Communications” to query whether there are any other wirelessterminals within wireless communication reach of the wireless terminal302 a with which to establish a P2P connection. The wireless terminal302 a can then communicate other parameter information stored in theterminal capabilities data structure 306 to the discovered wirelessterminals (e.g., the devices 106 of FIG. 1, the wireless terminal 302 bof FIGS. 3-11, or the wireless terminal 804 of FIG. 11) or to thecontrol point 502 (FIGS. 6-10) using the P2P setup information 204 (FIG.2) to inform other wireless terminals of the configuration and P2Pcapabilities of the wireless terminal 302 a.

The terminal capabilities data structure 306 also includes a pluralityof property types 902 and one or more property names 904 for each of theproperty types 902. Example property types 902 include a link mechanismtype 906, a network configuration type 908, a services type 910, analternate network discovery protocols type 912, an authentication type914, a location type 916, and a device type 918. As shown, the terminalcapabilities data structure 306 indicates that the link mechanism types906 supported by the wireless terminal 302 a include IEEE 802.11 ad-hocmode, Wi-Fi P2P mode, direct link setup (DLS), Bluetooth® (BT), andBluetooth® Alternate MAC and PHY (BT AMP). In addition, the terminalcapabilities data structure 306 stores parameters associated with thenetwork configuration 908 of the wireless terminal 302 a that includes aDHCP-based IP address (or a static IP address if DHCP is not available),a netmask, a default gateway address, a DNS address, and a networkaddress translation (NAT) address.

The types of services 910 supported by the wireless terminal 302 ainclude a streaming service, a file exchange service, a gateway service,a sharing service, an emergency service access service, different QoSclasses, and a voice over IP (VoIP) service. The alternate networkdiscovery protocols 912 supported by the wireless terminal 302 a includeuniversal plug-n-play (UPnP), Bonjour, session description protocol(SDP), session initiation protocol (SIP), and universal description,discovery, and integration (UDDI). The authentication methods 914supported by the wireless terminal 302 a include an extensibleauthentication protocol (EAP) method (e.g., EAP over IEEE 802.1X) and ausername/password method. The location type 916 parameters indicatewhether the wireless terminal 302 a supports acquiring geodetic locationinformation (longitude, latitude, altitude) and/or civic locationinformation (jurisdictional or postal street address) together withoptional offsets (used to determine accurate indoor WLAN locations). Inaddition, the terminal capabilities data structure 306 indicates whetherthe wireless terminal 302 a is a phone, a handheld, a computer, aprinter, or a HiFi device. The property types 902 and the property names904 are shown only by way of example. In other example implementations,fewer, more, or different property types and names may be stored in theterminal capabilities data structure 306.

FIG. 13 depicts the example CP management data structure 504 of FIG. 6in detail. The CP management data structure 504 stores entries fordifferent wireless terminals shown as terminal stations 1002 STA1, STA2,and STA3. In the illustrated example, STA1 refers to the wirelessterminal 302 a and STA2 refers to the wireless terminal 302 b. Inaddition, for each wireless terminal, the CP management data structure504 stores P2P capabilities and configuration information 1004. The P2Pcapabilities and configuration information 1004 can include one or moreproperty names and configuration information stored in the terminalcapabilities data structure 306 of FIGS. 3 and 12 and communicated(e.g., either transmitted directly in its entirety or indirectly (e.g.,using a URI reference for later retrieval purposes) by wirelessterminals to the control point 502. As also shown in FIG. 13, the CPmanagement data structure 504 stores the P2P connection statusindicators 1006 for each wireless terminal and service types 1008 hostedby the P2P connections.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 13, the CP management data structure504 indicates that wireless terminal STA1 is connected to wirelessterminal STA2, that wireless terminal STA3 does not have any current P2Pconnections, and that wireless terminals STA4-STA6 are connected via amulti-connection P2P session. The P2P connection status indicators 1006indicate the wireless terminals that are connected and can includemeta-info or metadata indicating how the P2P connections are made andthe particulars of each connection (e.g., connection speed, duplex orsimplex type, security, etc.). The service types 1008 depicted in FIG.13 show that the P2P connection between wireless terminals STA1 and STA2hosts a VoIP service and that the P2P connections between wirelessterminals STA4-STA6 host an instant messaging (IM) service. In addition,while the wireless terminals STA4-STA6 are involved in an IM session, asimultaneously occurring P2P connection between the wireless terminalsSTA4 and STA5 hosts a VoIP service.

Although the P2P capabilities, configuration, and connection informationis shown in FIG. 13 as stored in a single, integral data structure,database, or table. In other example implementations, the informationshown in FIG. 13 can alternatively be stored in separate locationsaccessible via a network. In such example implementations, the CPmanagement data structure 504 (and/or other data structure of thecontrol point 502) can store indirect references such as URIs indicatingwhere the information shown in FIG. 13 is stored on a network. In thismanner, instead of communicating messages to wireless terminalsincluding all of the P2P capabilities of other wireless terminals, thecontrol point 502 can communicate URIs to wireless terminals seeking todiscover P2P capabilities of other wireless terminals. Wirelessterminals can the use the URIs to retrieve the P2P capabilitiesinformation from the locations indicated by the URIs. Thus, when thecontrol point 502 is described herein as communicating P2P capabilitiesof wireless terminals to other wireless terminals, such P2P capabilitiesmessages can alternatively include URIs for use by wireless terminals inaccessing the P2P capabilities from other network locations instead of alisting of P2P capabilities.

FIG. 14 depicts an example message flow diagram representative ofcommunications between the wireless terminals 302 a-b via the wirelessAP 104 to discover each other's P2P capabilities and establish a P2Pconnection. In the illustrated example, the P2P-capable wirelessterminals 302 a-b are initially connected or associated to a WLANinfrastructure network through the AP 104 using default IEEE 802.11connection or link establishment procedures. Although the AP 104 isshown in FIG. 14 as an intermediary communication means for the wirelessterminals 302 a-b, in other example implementations, the wirelessterminals 302 a-b may connect through a network without the use of an APas described above in connection with FIG. 5.

Initially, as shown in FIG. 14, the wireless terminals 302 a-b broadcastP2P discovery messages 1102 seeking to discover and negotiate with otherP2P-capable devices or services on the network via a specified networkdiscovery protocol. For example, the network discovery protocol can beUPnP, Bonjour, SDP, SIP or a combination of these protocols. As a resultof the P2P discovery messages 1102, the wireless terminals 302 a-bdiscover one another. In addition, the wireless terminals 302 a-b canoptionally discover other dynamic aspects relating to the networkassociated with the AP 104 including, for example, whether a controlpoint (e.g., the control point 502 of FIGS. 6-10) exists or other P2Pservices of the AP 104 are available within the WLAN infrastructure.

One or both of the wireless terminals 302 a-b then launches a P2Pnetwork capability discovery protocol (e.g. an extensible markuplanguage (XML) exchange) to communicate their P2P capabilities andconfigurations with one another. For example, each of the wirelessterminals 302 a-b can store a terminal capabilities data structuresubstantially similar to the terminal capabilities data structure 306discussed above in connection with FIG. 12 to store its P2P capabilitiesand configuration information. The wireless terminals 302 a-b thenexchange capabilities messages 1104 including any QoS and/or class ofservice level requirements. In the illustrated example, the wirelessterminal 302 a communicates a STA1 P2P capabilities XML message 1106 andthe wireless terminal 302 b communicates a STA2 P2P capabilities XML,message 1108. An example instance of an XML schema (as defined by theWorld Wide Web Consortium (W3C)) that can be used to arrange the P2Pcapability and configuration information in the XML messages 1106 and1108 is provided in FIGS. 17A-17C. The capabilities messages 1104 mayinclude a list of supported P2P communications mechanisms, which couldinclude: Wi-Fi P2P, Wi-Fi TDLS (IEEE 802.11z), IEEE 802.11 adhoc mode,Bluetooth®, Bluetooth® AMP, or single-hop mesh (IEEE 802.11s).

After the capabilities messages 1104 have been exchanged, andacknowledged, each of the wireless terminals 302 a-b is able toassociate and initiate a specific service type, without manual userconfiguration or involvement. Subsequent services can then be initiatedby different applications on the wireless terminals 302 a-b. In theillustrated example, the wireless terminal 302 a sends a connect requestmessage 1110 to the wireless terminal 302 b with its selected servicetypes, and the wireless terminal 302 b responds with a connect responsemessage 1112 acknowledging the selected service types and agreeing toconnect. If the wireless terminals 302 b determines that it cannotsupport or is not willing to support (e.g., due to user preference) aP2P connection type proposed by the wireless terminal 302 a, thewireless terminal 302 b can instead respond with a counter-proposalconnect request message (not shown) in which the wireless terminal 302 brejects the P2P connection proposed by the wireless terminal 302 a andproposes a different type of P2P connection (e.g., the same or adifferent P2P service with different parameters (e.g., authentication,speed, etc.)). In such instances, the wireless terminal 302 a canrespond with a connect response accepting the counter-proposed P2Pconnection or counter-propose different P2P connection parameters. SuchP2P connection counter-proposals may also be used in connection withcontrol points such as the control point 502 (FIGS. 6-10, 15, and 16).

While the illustrated example of FIG. 14 shows the connect requestmessage 1110 separate from the capabilities messages 1104, in otherexample implementations, the volume of messages can be reduced bycombining capabilities messages (e.g., either of the capabilitiesmessages 1104 from the wireless terminal 302 a-b) with connect requestmessages (e.g., the connect request message 1110 or a connect requestmessage from the wireless terminal 302 b). The same type of combinedmessaging can also be implemented in instances in which the controlpoint 502 is used (FIGS. 6-10, 15, and 16). For example, the controlpoint 502 can publish or proxy a combined capabilities and connectrequest message on behalf of the wireless terminal 302 a to the wirelessterminal 302 b. Of course, a combined capabilities and connect requestmessage can instead be communicated by the control point 502 on behalfof the wireless terminal 302 b to the wireless terminal 302 a.

To further reduce the volume of exchanged messages between the wirelessterminals 302 a-b, the wireless terminals 302 a-b can cache oneanother's P2P capabilities and P2P capabilities received from any otherwireless terminals. In this manner, during subsequent connections withone another, the wireless terminals 302 a-b can refer to each other'sP2P capabilities that they previously cached to negotiate and establishone or more P2P connections.

As shown in FIG. 14, after a P2P service type is agreed upon by thewireless terminals 302 a-b for establishing a P2P connection, thewireless terminals 302 a-b begin association and wireless provisioningservice (WPS) negotiation communications 1114 with one another toprovision a P2P connection with one another. The wireless terminals 302a-b can then send P2P communications 1116 to one another. In theillustrated example of FIG. 14, the negotiation communications 1114 andP2P communications occur directly between the wireless terminals 302 a-bvia a P2P connection without requiring the intermediary AP 104. However,P2P connections that do require an intermediary AP can also beestablished between the wireless terminals 302 a-b via such anintermediary AP (e.g., the AP 104).

FIG. 15 depicts an example message flow diagram representative ofcommunications between the wireless terminals 302 a-b and the controlpoint 502 to facilitate discovery of the P2P capabilities of thewireless terminals 302 a-b and establish a P2P connection therebetween.Unlike the messaging exchanges depicted in FIG. 14 in which the wirelessterminals 302 a-b initially communicate with one another via the AP 104,in the illustrated example of FIG. 15, the wireless terminals 302 a-binitially communicate with the control point 502 to discover one anotheron a WLAN infrastructure and to receive each other's P2P capabilitiesand configuration information from the control point 502. Although notshown, the wireless terminals 302 a-b still communicate via an AP (e.g.,the AP 104). However, such communications are initially directed orrouted via the control point 502, which as described above in connectionwith FIGS. 6-10 can reside in a network, an AP, or a wireless terminalor can be a virtual control point formed of separately located controlpoints.

Turning in detail to FIG. 15, after the wireless terminals 302 a-b areassociated with a WLAN infrastructure, they communicate broadcast P2Pdiscovery messages 1202 seeking to discover and negotiate with otherP2P-capable devices or services on the network. The P2P discoverymessages 1202 are received by the control point 502 so that the controlpoint 502 can create entries of the wireless terminals 302 a-b in its CPmanagement data structure 504 (FIGS. 6 and 13). The wireless terminals302 a-b then communicate respective P2P capabilities messages 1204 and1206 including any QoS and/or class of service level requirements. Inthe illustrated example, the wireless terminal 302 a can communicate itsP2P capabilities message in the form of the STA1 capabilities XMLmessage 1106 and the wireless terminal 302 b can communicate its P2Pcapabilities message 1206 in the form of the STA2 capabilities XMLmessage 1108. The control point 502 can receive the P2P capabilitiesmessages 1204 and 1206 and store the respective capabilities inrespective entries of the CP management data structure 504 for each ofthe wireless terminals 302 a-b.

In some example implementations, the control point 502 can cache P2Pcapabilities information for different wireless terminals. In thismanner, a wireless terminal need only publish its capabilities onceduring a first connection or association with the control point 502.When the wireless terminal subsequently connects to the control point502, that wireless terminal need only publish any new or different P2Pcapabilities relative to its previously published P2P capabilities. Inaddition, wireless terminals can cache P2P capabilities of otherwireless terminals. For instance, the wireless terminal 302 b can cachethe P2P capabilities of the wireless terminal 302 a for use duringsubsequent connections with the wireless terminal 302 a. In this manner,the control point 502 would need only forward the P2P capabilities ofthe wireless terminal 302 a to wireless terminals that had notpreviously attempted to establish P2P connections with the wirelessterminal 302 a. In addition, any time the wireless terminal 302 a hasbeen provided with additional or different P2P capabilities, the controlpoint 502 can communicate such changes to the wireless terminal 302 b.

In the message flow of FIG. 15, the control point 502 broadcasts astation capabilities advertisement 1208 to the wireless terminals 302a-b and any other wireless terminal in communication with the controlpoint 502. The station capabilities advertisement 1208 can beimplemented using an XML message 1210 including the P2P capabilities andconfigurations of all the wireless terminals connected to the controlpoint 502 and available for communicating via P2P connections. In theillustrated example of FIG. 15, when the wireless terminal 302 a electsto establish a P2P connection with the wireless terminal 302 b, thewireless terminal 302 a communicates a connect request message 1212 tothe wireless terminal 302 b with its selected service types, and thewireless terminal 302 b responds with a connect response message 1214acknowledging the selected service types and agreeing to connect. Inother example implementations, the connect request message 1212 and theconnect response message 1214 can be communicated directly between thewireless terminals 302 a-b without using the control point 502 as anintermediary service for these messages.

In some example implementations, to reduce the volume of communicatedinformation, the control point 502 can be configured to deferpublication of P2P capabilities via the station capabilitiesadvertisement 1208 until there is some communication between two or morewireless terminals indicating an interest in establishing a P2Pconnection. Thus, prior to wireless terminals showing such interest(e.g., via a connect request message) in establishing a P2P connection,the control point 502 can communicate a notification includingplace-holders or indirect references such as URIs representative of thedifferent wireless terminals in a network environment having some P2Pcapabilities. In some example implementations, when wireless terminalssuch as the wireless terminals 302 a-b show some interest inestablishing P2P connections, the wireless terminals 302 a-b canexchange their P2P capabilities with one another while bypassing thecontrol point 502 for this exchange. An advantage of this type ofcapabilities exchange is that while the control point 502 enables thewireless terminals 302 a-b to discovery one another throughnotifications including indirect references (e.g., URIs), furtherresources of the control point 502 need not be spent on furthernegotiating P2P capabilities and connections between the wirelessterminals 302 a-b.

Returning to the illustrated example of FIG. 15, after a P2P servicetype is agreed upon by the wireless terminals 302 a-b for establishing aP2P connection, the wireless terminals 302 a-b begin association andwireless provisioning service (WPS) negotiation communications 1216directly with one another without communicating via the control point502. In this manner, the wireless terminals 302 a-b can associate andprovision a P2P connection with one another. The wireless terminals 302a-b can then communicate with one another via P2P communications 1218.

FIG. 16 depicts an example message flow diagram representative of a P2Pcapabilities dynamic update process facilitated by the control point502. As shown, the wireless terminals 302 a-b have ongoing P2Pcommunications 1302 as a result of a previous P2P capabilities exchange(e.g., the messaging exchange of FIG. 15). During the ongoing P2Pcommunications 1302, the wireless terminal 302 a undergoes a state orenvironmental change 1304. In the illustrated example, the wirelessterminal 302 a detects a calendar event (e.g., a meeting time) and, as aresult, the wireless terminal 302 a is placed into a silent mode. Inresponse to detecting the state or environmental change, the wirelessterminal 302 a communicates a capabilities change notification 1306 tothe control point 502. The control point 502, in turn, stores theupdated capabilities and communicates the capabilities through a proxiedcapabilities exchange update 1308 to other devices or elements (e.g.,the wireless terminal 302 b) within the WLAN infrastructure. Inresponse, the other devices or elements such as the wireless terminal302 b re-communicate their capabilities information 1310 to the controlpoint 502.

The control point 502 then processes and mediates the exchangedrevised/proxied capabilities 1312. That is, the control point 502 canmanage the capabilities that the wireless terminals 302 a-b haveadvertised. For example, the control point 502 can enforce policiesbetween the wireless terminals 302 a-b (i.e., policing the P2Pconnection). Such policy enforcement can include re-offering and/orre-submitting requests to the wireless terminals 302 a-b to re-establishor revise P2P connections using the appropriate revised capabilities. Insome example implementations, policies may be used to limit the typeand/or breadth of capabilities provided to other wireless terminals(e.g., to ensure that the other wireless terminals are unable to invokeservices with an originating wireless terminal (e.g., a voice call)).

Once capabilities have been re-established, a series of one or moreconnection requests for respective P2P communications are sent by thecontrol point 502 on behalf of the wireless terminal 302 a. In theillustrated example, the control point 502 sends a revised connectrequest message 1314 to the wireless terminal 302 b to update theongoing P2P connection between the wireless terminals 302 a-b. In turn,the wireless terminal 302 b communicates a connect response message 1316to the control point 502. The request 1314 and response 1316 negotiatethe capabilities to be used with the available P2P communication path.In this manner, the wireless terminals 302 a-b can continue tocommunicate via a P2P connection using revised P2P communications 1318.In the illustrated example, the ongoing P2P communications 1302 betweenthe wireless terminals 302 a-b were capable of carrying VoIPcommunications. However, the state change of the wireless terminal 302 acauses the wireless terminal 302 a to no longer support VoIPcommunications while its user is in a meeting. Thus, the revised P2Pcommunications 1318 support only instant messaging (IM) communicationswhile the user of the wireless terminal 302 a is in the meeting.

The updates depicted in FIG. 16 may also be triggered by state orenvironmental changes to a WLAN environment without any directinteraction or involvement by the user of a wireless terminal. Forinstance, such WLAN environment changes could include an AP beingre-configured or taken out of service, a new service being provisionedwith the WLAN (e.g., voice or streaming media services), a WLAN servicebeing shutdown due to preventative maintenance, or a WLAN printingdevice or service no longer being accessible due to factors such aslow-toner, out-of-paper, etc.

Turning now to FIGS. 17A-17C, an example XML schema 1400 for use inarranging P2P capabilities and configuration information communicatedbetween wireless terminals (e.g., the wireless terminals 302 a-b) isprovided. The schemata 1400 could be defined by a standardsorganization, wireless service providers, carriers, network operators,device manufacturers, etc. From time to time, the structure of theschemata 1400 may change to enable additional P2P capabilities.

An example XML-based P2P capabilities message 1500 is illustrated inFIGS. 18A and 18B. The XML-based P2P capabilities message 1500 isimplemented in accordance with the defined XML schema 1400.Alternatively, the XML-based P2P capabilities message 1500 could bebased on an XML Document Type Definition (DTD) or a combination of XMLSchema and Resource Description Framework (RDF) XML constructs. TheXML-based P2P capabilities message 1500 indicates P2P capabilities andservices accessible via an AP (e.g., the AP 104). For example, the AP104 may be in communication with one or more P2P services including VoIPservices, printing services, streaming media services, emergency callingservices, etc. that can communicate via P2P connections with wirelessterminals (e.g., the wireless terminals 302 a-b). In some exampleimplementations, the information in the XML-based P2P capabilitiesmessage 1500 could be provisioned from a central component, relay, orinfrastructure (e.g. a BlackBerry® Enterprise Server (BES) component).Such a central configuration component can control P2P connectivitythrough a configuration channel using, for example, some higher layerprotocol such as OMA DM or it could be established through some type ofproprietary (non-standard) network provisioning system. Alternatively,the XML-based P2P capabilities message 1500 may also be populated andupdated based on dynamic detection of P2P capabilities or services(e.g., without overt provisioning) accessible via the AP 104.

In the illustrated example of FIGS. 18A and 18B, the XML-based P2Pcapabilities message 1500 indicates that a P2P WLAN infrastructureaccessible via the AP 104 supports two ad-hoc links with prefixes‘AH-Link1’, ‘AH_Link2’ (the second link being of a specified link type,that is ‘WiFi P2P’). The XML-based P2P capabilities message 1500 alsoindicates that the WLAN is configured as an IPV4 based network usingDHCP and based on an IP subnet represented as an IP address and subnetmask (e.g., subnet 192.168.15.0 mask 255.255.255.0 (192.168.15.0/24)).Pre-provisioned services are shown as including a Skype™ VoIP servicewith a class-of-service defined as ‘WiFi:Voice’, an emergency servicesaccess platform, and a clock service. In the illustrated example, boththe WiFi and clock services are directly able to make use of IPV4multicasting over Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP), while theemergency services access platform may use some other (as yet undefinedor yet to be determined) discovery scheme. In addition, alternatediscovery protocols including UPnP are specified and a mapping isprovided for the Skype™ VoIP service and for any service containing theword ‘Print’ in its identifier (e.g., a printing service identified as‘PrintingService’). In the illustrated example, Bonjour discoveryprotocol is another alternative. The Bonjour service may be applied tothe statically defined clock service or any service with the word ‘Time’in its identifier (e.g., a time synchronization service identified as‘NetworkTime’).

Referring now to FIG. 19, an illustrated example of the wirelessterminal 302 a of FIGS. 3-11 and 14-16 is shown in block diagram form.The wireless terminal 302 b and any other P2P capable device configuredto implement the example techniques described herein can be implementedin similar fashion. In the illustrated example, the wireless terminal302 a includes a processor 1602 that may be used to control the overalloperation of the wireless terminal 302 a. The processor 1602 may beimplemented using a controller, a general purpose processor, a digitalsignal processor, dedicated hardware, or any combination thereof.

The wireless terminal 302 a also includes a terminal message generator1604 and a terminal data parser 1606. The terminal message generator1604 may be used to generate messages including the P2P setupinformation 204 of FIG. 2. The terminal data parser 1606 may be used toretrieve information from memory (e.g., a RAM 1612). For example, theterminal data parser 1606 can retrieve ones of the P2P capabilitiesparameters and configuration information discussed above in connectionwith the terminal capabilities data structure 306. For instance, whenthe wireless terminal 302 a receives a P2P capabilities message (e.g.,the STA2 capabilities XML message 1108), the capabilities andconfiguration information can be stored in a memory of the wirelessterminal 302 a and retrieved from the memory by the terminal data parser1606.

The wireless terminal 302 a also includes a capabilities selector 1608to select modes, protocols, services or other P2P setup information foruse in negotiating and establishing a P2P connection with anotherP2P-capable wireless terminal or service. The capabilities selector 1608may be configurable to select communication modes or parameters based ondifferent factors or criteria including, for example, user preferences,wireless terminal resources, WLAN infrastructure resources, wirelessservice provider restrictions, P2P application requirements (e.g., mediastreaming, file transfers, PIM synchronization, etc.), etc.

Although the terminal message generator 1604, the terminal data parser1606, and the capabilities selector 1608 are shown as separate from andconnected to the processor 1602 in FIG. 19, in some exampleimplementations, the terminal message generator 1604, the terminal dataparser 1606, and the capabilities selector 1608 may be implemented inthe processor 1602 and/or in a wireless communication subsystem (e.g., awireless communication subsystem 1620). The terminal message generator1604, the terminal data parser 1606, and the capabilities selector 1608may be implemented using any desired combination of hardware, firmware,and/or software. For example, one or more integrated circuits, discretesemiconductor components, and/or passive electronic components may beused. Thus, for example, the terminal message generator 1604, theterminal data parser 1606, and the capabilities selector 1608, or partsthereof, could be implemented using one or more circuit(s), programmableprocessor(s), application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)),programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)), field programmable logicdevice(s) (FPLD(s)), etc. The terminal message generator 1604, theterminal data parser 1606, and the capabilities selector 1608, or partsthereof, may be implemented using instructions, code, and/or othersoftware and/or firmware, etc. stored on a machine accessible medium andexecutable by, for example, a processor (e.g., the example processor1602). When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purelysoftware implementation, at least one of the terminal message generator1604, the terminal data parser 1606, or the capabilities selector 1608is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible medium such as a solidstate memory, a magnetic memory, a DVD, a CD, etc.

The example wireless terminal 302 a shown in FIG. 19 also includes aFLASH memory 1610, a random access memory (RAM) 1612, and an expandablememory interface 1614 communicatively coupled to the processor 1602. TheFLASH memory 1610 can be used to, for example, store computer readableinstructions and/or data. In some example implementations, the FLASHmemory 1610 can be used to store one or more of the data structuresdiscussed above in connection with FIGS. 3, 6, 12, 13-15, 17A-17C, 18A,and 18B associated with the wireless terminal 302 a and/or the controlpoint 502 when implemented using the wireless terminal 302 a. The RAM1612 can also be used to, for example, store data and/or instructions.In addition, instructions used to implement the control point 502 couldbe stored in the FLASH memory 1610 and/or in the RAM 1612. In someexample implementations, the instructions for the control point 502could be stored in expandable memory and indirectly addressable via theexpandable memory interface 1614. In any case, the functions forming theoperation of the control point 502 would be executed either in whole orin part by the processor 1602 executing the instructions.

The wireless terminal 302 a is provided with a security hardwareinterface 1616 to receive a SIM card from a wireless service provider. ASIM card may be used to provide P2P capabilities allowed by a serviceprovider for use by the wireless terminal 302 a to establish P2Pconnections with other P2P-capable devices or services. The wirelessterminal 302 a is also provided with an external data I/O interface1618. The external data I/O interface 1618 may be used by a user totransfer information to and from the wireless terminal 302 a through awired medium.

The wireless terminal 302 a is provided with a wireless communicationsubsystem 1620 to enable wireless communications with WLAN APs (e.g.,the AP 104) and other wireless terminals (e.g., the wireless terminal302 b). Although not shown, the wireless terminal 302 a may also have along-range communication subsystem to receive messages from, and sendmessages to, a cellular wireless network. In the illustrated examplesdescribed herein, the wireless communication subsystem 1620 can beconfigured in accordance with the IEEE® 802.11 standard. In otherexample implementations, the wireless communication subsystem 1620 canbe implemented using a BLUETOOTH® radio, a ZIGBEE® device, a wirelessUSB device, or an ultra-wideband (UWB) radio (e.g., WiMax).

To enable a user to use and interact with or via the wireless terminal302 a, the wireless terminal 302 a is provided with a speaker 1622, amicrophone 1624, a display 1626, and a user input interface 1628. Thedisplay 1626 can be an LCD display, an e-paper display, etc. The userinput interface 1628 could be an alphanumeric keyboard and/ortelephone-type keypad, a multi-direction actuator or roller wheel withdynamic button pressing capability, a touch panel, etc. As discussedabove, the example methods and apparatus described herein can also beadvantageously used in connection with wireless terminals that do nothave user interfaces and, thus, the speaker 1622, the microphone 1624,the display 1626, the user input interface 1628, and/or any combinationthereof may be optionally omitted. In the illustrated example, thewireless terminal 302 a is a battery-powered device and is, thus,provided with a battery 1630 and a battery interface 1632.

Turning now to FIG. 20, an example of the control point 502 is shown inblock diagram form. As shown, the control point 502 includes acommunication interface 1702, a data store interface 1704, a controlpoint message generator 1706, a control point data parser 1708, and acapabilities identifier 1710. The communication interface 1702, the datastore interface 1704, the control point message generator 1706, thecontrol point data parser 1708, and the capabilities identifier 1710 maybe implemented using any desired combination of hardware, firmware,and/or software. For example, one or more integrated circuits, discretesemiconductor components, and/or passive electronic components may beused. Thus, for example, the communication interface 1702, the datastore interface 1704, the control point message generator 1706, thecontrol point data parser 1708, and the capabilities identifier 1710, orparts thereof, could be implemented using one or more circuit(s),programmable processor(s), application specific integrated circuit(s)(ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)), field programmablelogic device(s) (FPLD(s)), etc. The communication interface 1702, thedata store interface 1704, the control point message generator 1706, thecontrol point data parser 1708, and the capabilities identifier 1710, orparts thereof, may be implemented using instructions, code, and/or othersoftware and/or firmware, etc. stored on a machine accessible medium andexecutable by, for example, a processor (e.g., the example processor1602 of FIG. 19). When any of the appended claims are read to cover apurely software implementation, at least one of the communicationinterface 1702, the data store interface 1704, the control point messagegenerator 1706, the control point data parser 1708, or the capabilitiesidentifier 1710 is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible mediumsuch as a solid state memory, a magnetic memory, a DVD, a CD, etc.

Turning in detail to FIG. 20, to exchange communications withP2P-capable devices or services (e.g., the wireless terminals 302 a-b),the control point 502 is provided with the communication interface 1702.To store and retrieve P2P capabilities and configuration information andP2P connection status information to and from a memory, the controlpoint 502 is provided with the data store interface 1704. For example,the data store interface 1704 can enable the control point 502 to accessthe control point management data structure 504 of FIGS. 6 and 13. Togenerate messages, the control point 502 is provided with the controlpoint message generator 1706. To retrieve P2P capabilities and otherinformation received from P2P-capable devices or services viacapabilities messages, the control point 502 is provided with a controlpoint data parser 1708. To identify different P2P capabilitiesassociated with different P2P-capable devices and services and receivedvia capabilities messages, the control point 502 is provided with thecapabilities identifier 1710.

FIGS. 21A, 21B, 22, and 23 depict example flow diagrams representativeof example processes that may be implemented using computer readableinstructions that may be used to exchange P2P capabilities andconfiguration information and establish P2P connections betweenP2P-capable devices and/or services. The example operations of FIGS.21A, 21B, 22, and 23 may be performed using a processor, a controllerand/or any other suitable processing device. For example, the exampleoperations of FIGS. 21A, 21B, 22, and 23 may be implemented using codedinstructions stored on a tangible medium such as a flash memory, aread-only memory (ROM) and/or random-access memory (RAM) associated witha processor (e.g., the processor 1602 of FIG. 19). Alternatively, someor all of the example operations of FIGS. 21A, 21B, 22, and 23 may beimplemented using any combination(s) of application specific integratedcircuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)), fieldprogrammable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)), discrete logic, hardware,firmware, etc. Also, some or all of the example operations of FIGS. 21A,21B, 22, and 23 may be implemented manually or as any combination(s) ofany of the foregoing techniques, for example, any combination offirmware, software, discrete logic and/or hardware. Further, althoughthe example operations of FIGS. 21A, 21B, 22, and 23 are described withreference to the flow diagrams of FIGS. 21A, 21B, 22, and 23, othermethods of implementing the operations of FIGS. 21A, 21B, 22, and 23 maybe employed. For example, the order of execution of the blocks may bechanged, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated,sub-divided, or combined. Additionally, any or all of the exampleoperations of FIGS. 21A, 21B, 22, and 23 may be performed sequentiallyand/or in parallel by, for example, separate processing threads,processors, devices, discrete logic, circuits, etc.

The example flow diagrams of FIGS. 21A and 21B include a STA1 process1802 and an STA2 process 1804 that cooperatively interact to facilitatecommunication between the wireless terminals 302 a and 302 b. In theillustrated example, the STA1 process 1802 is implemented using thewireless terminal 302 a and the STA2 process 1804 is implemented usingthe wireless terminal 302 b. The flow diagram of FIGS. 21A and 21B isdescribed in connection with the example message flow of FIG. 14 and canbe performed without use of the control point 502.

Turning in detail to FIGS. 21A and 21B, initially, the wireless terminal302 b broadcasts the P2P discovery message 1102 of FIG. 14 (block 1806)(FIG. 21A) to discover other P2P-capable devices in communication withthe same WLAN infrastructure as the wireless terminal 302 b. In theillustrated example, the wireless terminal 302 b receives the P2Pdiscovery message via the AP 104 (block 1808). The terminal messagegenerator 1604 generates a P2P capabilities message (block 1810) in theform of the STA1 P2P capabilities message 1106 of FIG. 14, and thewireless terminal 302 a communicates the STA1 P2P capabilities message1106 to the wireless terminal 302 b (block 1812). Any wireless terminalthat receives the P2P discovery message 1102 broadcasted by the wirelessterminal 302 b and that does not support P2P communications ignores thereceived broadcasted message and, therefore, the process would endwithout any further operations.

The wireless terminal 302 b receives the STA1 P2P capabilities message1106 via the AP 104 (block 1818). A terminal data parser (e.g., similarto the terminal data parser 1606 of FIG. 19) of the wireless terminal302 b identifies the P2P capabilities indicated in the STA1 P2Pcapabilities message 1106, and the wireless terminal 302 b determineswhether it supports any common or compatible P2P capabilities (block1820). If the wireless terminal 302 b does not support any compatibleP2P capabilities (block 1820), the wireless terminal 302 b can continueto search for other compatible P2P devices or services (block 1822), inwhich case, control returns to block 1818 to receive another P2Pcapabilities message from another device or service. Alternatively, ifthe wireless terminal 302 b does not support any compatible P2Pcapabilities (block 1820), the process could end without furtheroperations if the wireless terminal 302 b is not to receive other P2Pcapabilities messages. Such a process termination could be a matter ofchoice based on, for example, a user preference or a user suppliedresponse to a message indicating that no P2P capabilities of thewireless terminal 302 a matched P2P capabilities of the wirelessterminal 302 b.

If the wireless terminal 302 b does support one or more common orcompatible P2P capabilities, a terminal message generator of thewireless terminal 302 b generates a capabilities response message (block1824) in the form of the STA2 P2P capabilities XML message 1108 of FIG.14. The wireless terminal 302 b then communicates the STA2 P2Pcapabilities XML message 1108 (block 1826) to the wireless terminal 302a.

The wireless terminal 302 a receives the STA2 P2P capabilities XMLmessage 1108 via the AP 104 (block 1828). The capabilities selector 1608then selects P2P connection parameters (e.g., the P2P modes andconfigurations) to propose to the wireless terminal 302 b forestablishing a P2P connection between the wireless terminals 302 a-b(block 1830). Such P2P capabilities selection can be based on one ormore criteria or factors including, for example, wireless terminalresources, WLAN infrastructure resources, wireless service providerrestrictions, P2P application requirements (e.g., media streaming, filetransfers, PIM synchronization, etc.), user preference, etc. Theterminal message generator 1604 of FIG. 19 generates the connect requestmessage 1110 of FIG. 14 with the selected P2P parameters (block 1832),and the wireless terminal 302 a communicates the connect request message1110 to the wireless terminal 302 b (block 1834).

The wireless terminal 302 b receives the connect request message 1110via the AP 104 (block 1836) and generates the connect response message1112 of FIG. 14 (block 1838). For example, if the P2P capabilities andconfiguration information including a minimum QoS and/or class ofservice level are acceptable to the wireless terminal 302 b, then thewireless terminal 302 b can agree to establish a P2P connection with thewireless terminal 302 a based on the proposed P2P capabilities andconfiguration information. The wireless terminal 302 b then communicatesthe connect response message 1112 to the wireless terminal 302 a (block1840) (FIG. 21B).

The wireless terminal 302 a receives the connect response message 1112via the AP 104 (block 1842) and configures a profile for direct P2Pcommunications with the wireless terminal 302 b (i.e., STA2) (block1844). For example, the wireless terminal 302 a can provision a P2Pconnection using the IP address of the wireless terminal 302 b and/orany other information required by the agreed upon P2P mode ofcommunication. The wireless terminal 302 a then communicates a proposedP2P association and provisioning message to the wireless terminal 302 b(block 1846).

The wireless terminal 302 b receives the proposed P2P association andprovisioning message from the wireless terminal 302 a (i.e., STA1)(block 1848) and configures a profile for direct P2P communications withthe wireless terminal 302 a (block 1850). In this manner, the wirelessterminals 302 a-b establish a P2P connection (e.g., the P2P connection304 of FIG. 3 or 406 of FIG. 4). Although a single P2P association andprovisioning exchange is shown in connection with blocks 1846 and 1848,such association and provisioning may require more than one messagingexchange to establish a P2P connection. After the P2P connection isestablished or if the wireless terminal 302 b determines that it shouldnot continue to search for any other P2P-capable devices (block 1822(FIG. 21A)), the example processes of FIGS. 21A and 21B end.

FIG. 22 depicts a flow diagram representative of example processes,which may be implemented using computer readable instructions todiscover P2P capabilities using the control point 502 and establish P2Pconnections between wireless terminals (e.g., the wireless terminals 302a-b). In the illustrated example, an STA1 process 1902 is implementedusing the wireless terminal 302 a and a CP process 1904 is implementedusing the control point 502. The flow diagram of FIG. 22 is described inconnection with the example message flow of FIG. 15.

Turning in detail to FIG. 22, initially, the wireless terminal 302 a andthe control point 502 exchange the broadcasted P2P discovery messages1202 of FIG. 15 (blocks 1906 and 1908) to allow the wireless terminal302 a to discover other P2P-capable devices in communication with thesame WLAN infrastructure as the wireless terminal 302 a. The terminalmessage generator 1604 generates a P2P capabilities message (block 1910)in the form of the STA1 P2P capabilities message 1106 of FIG. 15, andthe wireless terminal 302 a communicates the STA1 P2P capabilitiesmessage 1106 to the control point 502 (block 1912).

The control point 502 receives the STA1 P2P capabilities message 1106(block 1914), and the data store interface 1704 (FIG. 20) stores the P2Pcapabilities of the wireless terminal 302 a in a data structure (e.g.,the CP management data structure 504 of FIGS. 6 and 13) (block 1916).The control point 502 then broadcasts the P2P capabilities advertisement1208 (FIG. 15) indicative of the P2P capabilities of all availablewireless terminals and P2P-capable services in communication with thecontrol point 502 (block 1918). For example, the data store interface1704 can retrieve the P2P capabilities and corresponding wirelessterminal identifiers from the CP management data structure 504, and thecontrol point message generator 1706 can generate the P2P capabilitiesadvertisement 1208.

The wireless terminal 302 a receives the P2P capabilities advertisement1208 from the control point 502 (block 1920). The capabilities selector1608 (FIG. 19) then selects a station, wireless terminal or service withwhich to connect (block 1922) based on the advertisement 1208. In theillustrated example, the wireless terminal 302 a selects to connect withthe wireless terminal 302 b. In addition, the capabilities selector 1608selects P2P connection parameters (e.g., the P2P modes andconfigurations) to propose to the wireless terminal 302 b forestablishing a P2P connection between the wireless terminals 302 a-b(block 1924). Such P2P capabilities selection can be based on one ormore criteria or factors including, for example, wireless terminalresources, WLAN infrastructure resources, wireless service providerrestrictions, P2P application requirements (e.g., media streaming, filetransfers, PIM synchronization, etc.), user preference, etc. Theterminal message generator 1604 (FIG. 19) generates the connect requestmessage 1212 of FIG. 15 with the selected P2P parameters (block 1926),and the wireless terminal 302 a communicates the connect request message1212 to the control point 502 (block 1928).

The control point 502 receives the connect request message 1212 (block1930) and proxies the connect request message to the indicated station(block 1932). In the illustrated example, the indicated station is thewireless terminal 302 b. The control point 502 then receives the connectresponse message 1214 (FIG. 15) from the wireless terminal 302 b (block1934) and proxies the connect response message 1214 to the wirelessterminal 302 a (i.e., STA1) (block 1936).

The wireless terminal 302 a receives the connect response message 1214(block 1938). The wireless terminal 302 a negotiates association andprovisioning directly with the wireless terminal 302 b (block 1940)without using the control point 502 and establishes a P2P connectionwith the wireless terminal 302 b (block 1942). The example processes ofFIG. 22 then end.

FIG. 23 depicts a flow diagram representative of example processes,which may be implemented using computer readable instructions todynamically update P2P capabilities of wireless terminals using thecontrol point 502 and update established P2P connections between thosewireless terminals. In the illustrated example, an STA1 process 2002 isimplemented using the wireless terminal 302 a and a CP process 2004 isimplemented using the control point 502. The flow diagram of FIG. 23 isdescribed in connection with the example message flow of FIG. 16.Initially, the wireless terminal 302 a detects a state change thataffects the corresponding composition of P2P service types and/or P2Pcapabilities of the wireless terminal 302 a (block 2006). The terminalmessage generator 1604 generates a revised P2P capabilities message(block 2008) in the form of the capabilities change notification 1306 ofFIG. 16, and the wireless terminal 302 a communicates the capabilitieschange notification 1306 to the control point 502 (block 2010).

The control point 502 receives the capabilities change notification 1306(block 2012) and stores the revised P2P capabilities of the wirelessterminal 302 a (i.e., STA1) (either directly or indirectly via a URI) inthe CP management data structure 504 of FIGS. 6 and 13 (block 2014). Thecontrol point 502 then proxies the revised P2P capabilities to thewireless terminal 302 b (i.e., STA2) (block 2016) and receives a P2Pcapabilities message from the wireless terminal 302 b (block 2018). Thecontrol point 502 mediates the P2P capabilities change (block 2020) by,for example, ensuring that the wireless terminals 302 a-b still havecommon or compatible P2P capabilities and by forming the revised connectrequest message 1314 (FIG. 16) based on the changed P2P capabilities torevise the P2P connection between the wireless terminals 302 a-b. Thecontrol point 502 then communicates a revised connect request message1314 on behalf of the wireless terminal 302 a to the wireless terminal302 b (block 2022) and receives the connect response message 1316 (FIG.16) from the wireless terminal 302 b (block 2024). If the wirelessterminal 302 b agrees to the revised P2P connection, the control point502 revises the P2P connection between the wireless terminals 302 a-b(block 2026). The processes of FIG. 23 then end.

Although certain methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture havebeen described herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is notlimited thereto. To the contrary, this patent covers all methods,apparatus, and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scopeof the appended claims either literally or under the doctrine ofequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for peer-to-peer (P2P) communication ina wireless local area network (WLAN), the method comprising:communicating, from a first peer wireless station (STA1), first peercapability information to a second peer wireless station (STA2) using acapability discovery protocol request, wherein the first peer capabilityinformation describes the STA1's capability information for a P2Pconnection between the STA1 and the STA2; receiving second peercapability information from the STA2 using a capability discoveryprotocol response, wherein the second peer capability informationdescribes the STA2's capability information for the P2P connection,wherein the second peer capability information includes acounter-proposal of the first peer capability information sent by theSTA1 based on a capability of the STA2 for P2P communication; andestablishing, by the STA1, the P2P connection between the STA1 and theSTA2 based on the second peer capability information; wherein at leastone of the first peer or the second peer capability informationcomprises data indicative of a capability of the STA1 for Direct LinkSetup (DLS); and wherein at least one of the first peer or second peercapability information includes information defined in an ExtensibleMarkup Language (XML) schema.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein at leastone of the first peer and the second peer capability information isstored on at least one of: a non-removable memory, a removable memory,or a removable module.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one ofthe first peer or the second peer capability information comprises atleast one of a netmask, an indication of direct link setup, or a staticinternet protocol “IP” address if a dynamic host configuration protocol“DHCP” based IP address is not available.
 4. A first peer wirelessstation (STA1) for peer-to-peer (P2P) communication in a wireless localarea network (WLAN), the STA1 comprising: a memory; and at least onehardware processor communicatively coupled with the memory andconfigured to: communicate, first peer capability information to asecond peer wireless station (STA2) using a capability discoveryprotocol request, wherein the first peer capability informationdescribes the STA1's capability information for a P2P connection betweenthe STA1 and the STA2; receive a second peer capability information fromthe STA2 using a capability discovery protocol response, wherein thesecond peer capability information describes the STA2's capabilityinformation for the P2P connection, wherein the second peer capabilityinformation includes a counter-proposal of the first peer capabilityinformation sent by the STA1 based on a capability of the STA2 for P2Pcommunication; and establish the P2P connection between the STA1 and theSTA2 based on the second peer capability information; wherein at leastone of the first peer or the second peer capability informationcomprises data indicative of a capability of the STA1 for Direct LinkSetup (DLS); and wherein at least one of the first peer or the secondpeer capability information includes information defined in anExtensible Markup Language (XML) schema.
 5. The STA1 of claim 4, whereinthe first peer capability information is stored on at least one of: anon-removable memory, a removable memory, or a removable module.
 6. TheSTA1 of claim 4, wherein the peer capability information comprises atleast one of a netmask, an indication of direct link setup, or a staticinternet protocol “IP” address if a dynamic host configuration protocol“DHCP” based IP address is not available.
 7. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium containing instructions which, when executed,cause a first peer wireless station (STA1) for peer-to-peer (P2P)communication in a wireless local area network (WLAN) to performoperations comprising: transmitting first peer capability information toa second peer wireless station (STA2) using a capability discoveryprotocol request, wherein the first peer capability informationdescribes the STA1's capability information for a P2P connection betweenthe STA1 and the STA2; receiving a second peer capability informationfrom the STA2 using a capability discovery protocol response, whereinthe second peer capability information describes the STA2's capabilityinformation for the P2P connection, wherein the second peer capabilityinformation includes a counter-proposal of the first peer capabilityinformation sent by the STA1 based on a capability of the STA2 for P2Pcommunication; and establishing, by the STA1, the P2P connection betweenthe STA1 and the STA2 based on the second peer capability information;wherein at least one of the first peer or the second peer capabilityinformation comprises data indicative of a capability of the STA1 forDirect Link Setup (DLS); and wherein at least one of the first peer orthe second peer capability information includes information defined inan Extensible Markup Language (XML) schema.
 8. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the first peer capabilityinformation is stored on at least one of: a non-removable memory, aremovable memory, or a removable module.
 9. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the first peer capabilityinformation comprises at least one of a netmask, an indication of directlink setup, or a static internet protocol “IP” address if a dynamic hostconfiguration protocol “DHCP” based IP address is not available.